The Perishing Song
by Sinisterclown13
Summary: "You don't understand, do you?" The Queen asked incredulously. "You're it. All of it. You-the eight of you-are the literal embodiments of the Fifth Age. If you die, the gods of Olympus die with you. The Perishing Song is not a prophecy to be trifled with: it predicts the end of the world as we know it. You are all that stands between the Fifth Age and utter annihilation. Save us."
1. The Calm Before the Storm

** A/N: New Story! I hope you guys will like it! The first chapter will be sorta sad for Percy, but he will get better. He won't be a depressed wreck forever. The Egyptian Pantheon might show up, which means Carter and Sadie Kane, but I'm not sure yet . . . **

** This story will have a mixture of OC's and main characters. They will NOT be Mary Sues . . . they will NOT be overpowered . . . NONE will be more powerful than Percy. I've read too many stories where the OC's can beat Percy in fights. I think that is dumb . . . Each OC will have flaws. I think there will be four total OC's, maybe five. By the way, Cica is pronounced "sis-uh"**

** Full Summary: The Perishing Song is a prophecy that predicts the end of the world. The legends about the Perishing Song state that its only purpose is to kill and destroy . . . they are entirely correct. After the Second Titan War, the Perishing Song comes into effect, bringing on the end of the Fifth Age. A motley group of eight demigods must band together to keep the fragile Fifth Age from shattering.**

**Prologue**

Long ago, a young, mortal woman received a prophecy. The prophecy itself was an odd one; it didn't rhyme, and didn't make much sense to her at all. It was long and tedious, becoming almost a page long when written down. For years, the woman studied the prophecy, but wasn't able to make heads or tails of it. Her family called her mad for trying to figure it out, saying that she wasn't in her right mind, and there were no such things as prophecies.

Eventually, the woman died. Each year of her life, she worked on deciphering the prophecy. After she passed, her son took over her research, eager to see what had enthralled his mother for all of her life.

Once he read the prophecy, he could not forget about it. As he plowed the fields, he would be running the lines through his mind, trying to detect the hidden message. While he sold food at his market stall, he daydreamed about completing the prophecy. His family once again called him mad, and said that he had inherited it from his deceased mother.

Soon, he died as well. His nephew took the prophecy next, and the same process repeated itself. He died before he was able to make any real progress.

By this time, many around the world had heard of the prophecy, and of the family that was devoting their lives to figure it out. They came from far and wide to hear the prophecy, but none could figure it out. Soon, the next inheritor of the song passed.

The prophecy was then referred to as the Perishing Song; the people that read the prophecy would die before they could figure anything else out. The Perishing Song was simply a prophecy that wasn't supposed to be read, according to the people who had met the family.

Many dismissed that idea, and continued to work on the prophecy. Slowly, the readers began to die at earlier ages than their predecessors. One woman died at thirty, which wasn't too uncommon for a citizen of Greece. The family member after her died at twenty-seven. The next went at twenty-one. Then one after that one made it to twenty-two. Then seventeen.

By this time, nearly everyone in Greece and the neighboring places had heard of the Perishing Song; a prophecy that had only a single purpose.

To kill.

A generation or two later, a member of the family had the intelligence to lock away the prophecy in a box, and hide it from his family. It remained locked for several generations, never leaving the small wooden chest it was imprisoned in.

Then, Greece was conquered. The small box was located in a city, and burnt along with the house it was hidden in. While the physical prophecy was destroyed, the prophecy itself lived on.

It was hidden from the gods by older beings: the primordials. The Queen of the primordials took it upon herself to memorize the Perishing Song, and then to eradicate all other sources of the prophecy. She used the Titaness Mnemosyne to wipe the memory of the other primordials, and then forced Mnemosyne swear that she would never in her immortal lifetime reveal the secret of the Perishing Song unless it was absolutely crucial or unless she was ordered to disclose it by the Queen herself. Millennia passed, yet the Perishing Song never came into play. Finally, the Queen witnessed Percy Jackson beating Kronos and losing his best friend during the Titan War. While the Queen was upset by the loss of the heroine, she was fully intrigued by the boy. He loyal and selfless: something that was mentioned in the Perishing Song. Obviously, she couldn't just confront him because he would have absolutely no idea what she was talking about.

The Queen decided to wait; the Song mentioned eight heroes, so the Queen decided to watch the Greek camp for a bit and see what she could find.

She wasn't prepared for what was to come.

-X-

**Chapter One: The Calm Before the Storm**

"Perce," A voice said behind him.

Percy turned his eyes away from the lake, and swiveled his head around to see his best friend, Grover. While Percy was happy to see the satyr, Percy still couldn't bring himself to smile. He had the same feeling now as he did when his mom was kidnapped; Percy believed that nothing should be colorful or happy when Annabeth was dead. It felt so wrong.

"Hey, Grover," Percy said, forcing a smile.

Grover seemed to notice that the smile was faked, but he didn't say anything about it.

"I got a new kid that just got here. He's eight. He reminds me of you, so I wanted to see if you wanted to give him a tour. You want to do it?"

Percy didn't really want to get up, but he did anyway. "Sure, I guess. Where is he?"

Grover pointed at Thalia's pine. Percy could see a small figure leaning against it, awkwardly looking around. Percy gave Grover's shoulder a squeeze before walking towards the tree. As he walked, another camper came up beside him.

"Hey, man," the boy greeted, "how are you doing?"

It was a son of Hermes he had befriended during the Battle of Manhattan. The kid saved Percy by blocking an arrow from hitting him. Even though Percy had the Achilles Curse, it still meant a lot that the kid would willingly take an arrow for him. After that, they became pretty good friends.

Percy actually wasn't sure what his name was. No, Percy was not some arrogant jerk that didn't remember people's names; Percy seriously had no idea what his name was. The kids in the Hermes cabin only called him by a nickname: Cica. Cica told Percy that it was short for Cicatricem, which was the Latin word for scar. It was fitting; Cica had a diagonal scar on his face stretching from his right temple to his right nostril, curving slightly around his eye. He got it when Luke's forces came out of the Labyrinth during Percy's fourth year at camp. Percy had no idea what to call him other than Cica.

"All right," Percy replied, allowing a rare and small smile to appear on his face, "how are you?"

"I'm good," Cica replied, "Still shaken up, but good."

Sometimes, it was hard for Percy to remember that they were only teens. Cica was sixteen now, while Percy was seventeen. Even a year after the second Titan War, Percy still had trouble coping with Annabeth's death, and images of the war flashed into everyone's mind occasionally. Percy knew that Cica lost most of his friends during the Battle of Manhattan, as did Percy.

"So where you going?" Cica asked, his icy-blue eyes scanning ahead of them.

Percy pointed to the tree on the other side of the camp. "Giving a tour to a new kid. You want to come? I'm going to get real bored, real fast."

Cica gave Percy his signature mischievous smile. "Sure thing. I have free time right now anyway."

They walked in silence for a minute, weaving around campers and cabins, trying to get to Thalia's tree. Finally Cica spoke again.

"How are you?"

Percy frowned. "You've asked me that already."

Cica glanced at him. "Yeah, but I want to know how you _really_ are. Not that bullshit you use to trick Nico and Thalia."

Percy smiled despite the situation. Cica was good at reading him. His smile faded when he thought about Cica's question.

"Not good. I'm . . . I'm lonely. But no one can replace her, you know? Grover tries to help, but it's not the same without her," Percy said, trying to blink back tears.

Cica nodded in understanding. He didn't try to tell him it would be okay, and Percy thanked him for that. He didn't want to be lied to. They kept walking through the crowds of chatting heroes, who would say hi to Percy. Some girls would touch him, but Percy would just smile politely and remove their hands and arms from him. And apologize that he couldn't stay and chat.

Cica ran a hand through his tousled blond hair. "It gets better."

Percy, who was deep in thought, stupidly muttered, "Huh?"

Cica rolled his eyes, but continued. "It gets better. I mean it."

Percy wasn't sure how Cica knew; he didn't talk much about where he came from. Cica didn't talk about his past, even to his siblings. Cica was intelligent; it was unusual for the children of Hermes, but Cica was one of the smartest kids he knew, other than Annabeth and the other Athena children. Percy knew from experience that Cica was usually correct.

Percy nodded, and realized that they had reached the tree. The kid was much shorter than Percy and Cica, and had jet-black hair like Percy. His eyes were a soft blue, but seemed to pulse with energy. His skin was tanned like Percy's and he had that same nervous demeanor that Percy had when he had first come to camp.

Cica was the first to speak. Stretching out his hand, he said, "Hey, little man, what's your name? I'm called Cica."

The boy's eyes drifted to Cica's scar, but he quickly looked away from it. "I'm Sean," he said quietly, shaking Cica's hand. Cica tilted his head towards Percy.

"That's Percy. We are gonna give you a tour, all right?"

Sean nodded. Cica took the lead, something Percy was glad for. He didn't feel like talking anyway. Cica explained to him about the myths, and how they moved with the most powerful civilization, which happened to be the Western Civilization at the time.

Sean nodded, and then looked curious. "Who is your parent?"

"Hermes," Cica responded proudly and looked at Percy. Percy inwardly sighed; he didn't want to talk.

"Poseidon," He stated.

Sean then looked thoughtful. "Who . . . Who is my parent?"

Cica cringed a little bit. "I don't know, kid. The gods have to claim you by thirteen, so you have five years at the maximum to wait. But they sometimes claim you immediately. If you get claimed, the gods will do it when we are at the pavilion for dinner. But by your looks . . ."

Cica flashed Percy a look and a raised eyebrow as if to say, 'See what I'm seeing?'

"Most likely Poseidon or Zeus. You got the hair and tan skin for Poseidon, and the eyes could be either one. I guess it depends on your skills at combat," Percy continued.

Sean frowned. "Combat?"

While Cica was telling Sean about monsters, Percy's eyes wandered the camp. They had reached the pavilion. It was almost dinner, and Percy's stomach was already growling. After the Titan war, Dionysus and Chiron removed the seating rules. Now, Percy could sit with who he wanted, and not alone at the Poseidon table.

"Hey, Cica," Percy said, "It's almost dinner. Why don't we finish the tour after?"

Cica stopped mid-sentence and turned to Percy. He shrugged. "Alright. Come on, kid."

-X-

Kayla Quinn sat around the fire with her fellow hunters, eating venison stew and chatting animatedly about that day's hunt. Kayla's bright blue eyes lit up with excitement as Artemis mentioned the campers versus hunters Capture the Flag game that would occur the following day. Kayla, like all of the huntresses, was always ready to beat down the campers.

They had decided to dedicate the night to learning about the campers' newest addition, and the biggest threats.. Artemis rose from her spot and snapped her fingers, causing a small table with a map to appear. The Hunters rose and gathered around it, excitedly eyeing Thalia, who would definitely have a solid plan.

"First, we are going to discuss possible problems," Artemis said, and then nodded to Thalia.

Thalia looked each of the thirteen girls in the eyes. "As you know, the biggest threat is Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, for all of you who are new here. His strong points are swordplay and hydrokinesis. He is absolutely abysmal with a bow, so don't worry about his ranged capabilities. I can guarantee that he could beat every single one of us at one time with only his sword.  
Kayla wasn't a new huntress, so she already knew that. Percy Jackson's skills were legendary when it came to swords; _everyone_ knew that.

"Weak points?" A new hunter, a daughter of Athena, named Andrea.

Thalia shook her head. "Other than his terrible archery, I don't think there is one. He's levelheaded and not easily angered. You can't taunt him and cause him to make mistakes. He'll stay collected."

The morale was low now. Artemis nodded at Thalia. "Next."

"Nico di Angelo," Thalia said next, giving a sly eye roll, "a son of Hades. Above average with a sword. Not sure about archery; I've never seen him use a bow. He shadow travels, so make sure not to let him use that to his advantage. He will not be easily angered either. He and Percy are by far the most dangerous threats."

Kayla nodded. "Next?"

"Cica," Thalia stated, "a son of Hermes."

Many hunters frowned at this, including Artemis.

"A son of Hermes?" Artemis asked, her voice laced with surprise.

Thalia nodded. "This is exactly why he's dangerous; all of you just underestimated him. He's good friends with Percy, so I know him a little bit. The guy is nothing like the other Hermes children."

Kayla heard Phoebe quietly mutter, "Stupid Stolls and their centaur blood . . ."

Kayla spoke up again. Kayla was one of the older girls, so when she spoke, people tended to listen. As a daughter of Apollo, her archery was impeccable; most of the younger girls looked up to her.

"Alright, I'll bite. How is this boy lethal?"  
"Uses as double-tipped spear. A pretty solid fighter, but the biggest issue is his speed. He inherited a unique skill from his father that none of the current Hermes campers have; he can move _really_ fast. He swift and dexterous, and can run circles around Percy without getting hit. I don't know anything about his ranged abilities. He seems pretty collected, but taunts might work," Thalia replied.

"Lady Artemis," Phoebe said with a frown, "Did you know that children of Hermes could inherit something like that?"

Artemis shook her head. "No, but it is very likely. Hephaestus's kids sometimes inherit pyro kinesis. I assume this speed skill is as rare as the fire users."

Phoebe nodded, looking deep in thought. Thalia spoke up again.

"Our last big threat is a son of Nike named Eli. Average with melee weapons, and a demon with a bow. Use cover when you engage him. He beats Will Solace at archery competitions constantly, or so I've heard from Nico."

That put the hunters into a silence. Kayla knew that Will was the best archer in the Apollo cabin, and if he could be beaten, that meant that this Eli kid was a _really_ effective and deadly archer.

"Other smaller threats include Clarisse La Rue, Will Solace, and Malcolm Waters. Clarisse is easily angered, Will is only good with a bow, and Malcolm only strategizes; he isn't very good at fighting. The four I mentioned earlier are the only powerhouses that we will have to worry about. Any questions?"

A younger camper spoke up. "What happens if we run into one of those four?"

Thalia bit her lip. "I guess we need to assign hunters to find and fight those campers so they don't cause much damage . . . I'll take Percy."

The younger campers gasped, but none objected. Phoebe nodded to Thalia.

"I got di Angelo."

"I got Eli," Andrea pledged.

Kayla piped up. "I'll take Cica."

Thalia nodded in approval. "Younger girls, avoid those four at all costs. I don't care if we lose because of it. They'll thrash you. Got it?"

The girls nodded in understanding. Artemis smiled in approval at her lieutenant.

"Good. Now hit the sack, girls," Artemis ordered, "we have a long day ahead of us."

-X-

"Follow me. We sacrifice the best parts of our meals to our parents. They like the smell," Cica told him.

Sean frowned slightly. They liked the smell? Sean decided not to question him. Cica was pretty cool and friendly, but Percy was really quiet and seemed to be distracted. He liked them both, but Cica was his favorite. It made him wish that Hermes was his father so he could hang out with Cica all the time. Sean was so used to being treated like he was some kind of freak—he is, actually, just not in a bad way—that it was rather refreshing to be treated like an equal by Cica. His scar was cool-looking too, but Sean was too shy to ask how he got it.

He watched as Cica slid the juiciest part of his steak into the brazier, and muttered a few quiet words. As Cica passed him, he whispered, "Just ask to be claimed. I'm sure your parent will claim you."

Sean nodded and dropped in the three biggest grapes he had on his plate. "Please, whoever you are, claim me."

Sean returned to his seat next to Cica, and across from Percy. Cica nodded towards the boy next to Percy. He had shaggy black hair and onyx eyes, and rather pale skin. He wore an aviator jacket, and was picking at his food while talking with Percy.

"That's Nico," Cica said, "a son of Hades."

Cica then leaned back, allowing Sean to see the boy on the other side of him. He had short and spiky brown hair, with warm, golden irises. The golden color was slightly unnerving, but not near as frightening as Nico's black ones.

"Meet Eli, son of Nike," Cica said.

Eli gave him a nod of acknowledgment, before returning to his food. Chiron gave a couple announcements, including something about a Capture the Flag match the next day against something called the hunters of Artemis.

"What are the Hunters of Artemis?" Sean asked Cica.

Cica swallowed a bit of steak and turned his head. "Artemis is a virgin goddess, and she decided to form a group of girls who swear off love and vow to forever remain virgins like she does. They all hate men, and are obsessed with archery. Sometimes they visit the camp and we always play Capture the Flag with them. You've played Capture the Flag before, right?"

Sean nodded.

"Not this kind, you haven't," Cica said with a crooked grin, "This game is played with weapons and armor. But you probably won't see much fighting since you are new."

Sean felt a nervous feeling rise in his stomach. Fighting? Sean wasn't sure if he would be good at that. He didn't even know if he could—

A series of gasps cut off his thoughts. Sean looked around, trying to figure out what everyone was staring at. He looked at Cica, who was smiling widely.

"You owe me a drachma, Eli," He said.

"Um, Cica?" Sean asked, "What is everyone staring at?"

Cica's eyes flicked above him. Sean looked up in time to see a slightly faded trident. It glowed green slightly, and Sean could smell the sea for some reason. Chiron stamped his hooves, bringing the attention back to him.

"All hail Sean Wright, son of Poseidon, god of the sea, and earthshaker."


	2. Beware the Darkness

** A/N: Chapter two is here! I already got positive feedback, so that means I will be moving on with this story. I also decided to do more direct answers to reviews. I used to just mention answers but never really stated who asked it and stuff like that. So I'm gonna start being more direct. **

**Dogbiscuit1967: **I haven't fully decided. While the Queen is a good option, I was leaning more to another demigod or something, but I'm not sure whom yet. Just for a quick sneak peek at the pairings, Cica will most likely be paired with Kayla. And don't worry about the whole virgin hunter thing. It will be very gradual and almost unnoticeable until later chapters. Sean—being eight years old—will not have a pairing. I don't really like Thalico, so Thalia (Maybe Eli for her? Who knows) and Nico will most likely stay single. Eli will probably stay single, or be paired with Thalia. If you haven't noticed, I've only introduced seven characters, while the prophecy includes eight. The eighth might be paired with someone. Or maybe some Pertemis? I like Artemis and I could definitely do that. Not sure yet. Might do a poll once the story gets more popular.

**xRinneandSharinx: **I'm glad you like it so far! Hopefully it will get even better.

**WARNING: Lots of deaths in this chapter. Sad, but necessary. In fact, my two favorite characters from the series are killed in this chapter. Sorry. It will hopefully get slightly happier after this chapter. This chapter is meant to make the characters feel helpless and hopeless. THIS BATTLE WILL BE ABSOLUTELY GLORIOUS. It made me tingle with excitement while I wrote it.**

**Chapter Two: Beware the Darkness**

Sean opened the door to his new cabin, with Percy trailing behind him. The cabin was perfect; the intoxicating smell of the salty sea breeze wafted to his Sean's nose, making him feel as if he was actually at the beach.

"I had the same reaction," Percy said from behind him.

Still, Sean didn't know what to think about Percy. Cica had told him about Kronos and Percy's quests, so Sean knew he was some kind of celebrity at the camp. He wasn't pompous: something Sean was grateful for. He wasn't sure how he would be able to handle it if Percy gloated nonstop. He was actually the opposite; Percy was rather quiet, surprising Sean greatly.

"It's perfect," Sean commented, walking in and collapsing on a bunk.

"That one is mine," Percy remarked with a small smile.

Sean turned red in embarrassment and plopped down on the one next to him.

"Taken," Percy muttered after he sat down on his bunk.

Sean raised an eyebrow. "By who? I thought you were the only kid of Poseidon."

Percy shook his head. "We have a half-brother named Tyson. He's a Cyclops, but friendly. He's one of our father's generals."

"Oh," Sean murmured, before moving to a third one, on the other side of Percy's.

Percy nodded in approval. Sean dropped his things and shoved them under his bunk, before collapsing on his bed.

"So what are we doing tomorrow?" Sean asked excitedly, his aqua blue eyes trained on the back of Percy's head.

Percy's head swiveled around to face Sean. "We'll do some activities: sword training, ancient Greek," Percy seemed to flinch slightly at that, "some canoeing, and maybe some weight-lifting. You're pretty tiny, no offense."

Sean chuckled at the last part. "Will I get to see Cica?"

Percy laughed. "Yeah. Cica tends to pop up every now and then. Plus, we have Capture the Flag tomorrow against the Hunters. You'll see him then too."

Sean grinned excitedly. "So what are the hunters like?"

Percy shrugged. "Some are pretty cold and rude, some are tolerable, and then there's Thalia, the lieutenant."

Seeing Sean's confused face, Percy continued. "Thalia is a daughter of Zeus that I was good friends with before she joined them. She joined to avoid the Great Prophecy, so she isn't a big man-hater. She's pretty friendly, but sort of deadly at times."

"Oh," Sean said, for the lack of a better answer. Percy then rolled over and clapped his hands.

"Lights out."

The lights flipped off when he clapped.

"Cool," Sean whispered, liking it here already.

-X-

Cica rose early like he always did: 5:00 am sharp. Every day, Cica would rise before the others, in order to keep himself in shape. He wore his regular white tee, with black gym shorts, and running shoes. He began to jog around the camp, allowing himself a short break to watch the sunrise over the lake. Cica smiled as the soft breeze blew his blond hair out of his eyes.

These were the moments Cica lived for; those beautiful scenes, like the sunrise, and the beautiful feelings, like the wind billowing through his hair as he ran. Running was the only thing that could calm Cica down; speed was his domain. Everyone knew he was abnormally fast, but he rarely used his ability full force. It would drain him drastically, but he could run _much_ faster than he let on.

That was about the only thing he got from his father. Hermes wasn't exactly the perfect parent. He was a god, which automatically made him a terrible parent, but it got even worse. For the first five years Percy was at camp, Hermes was practically obsessed with Luke, and ignored the rest of his kids. Favoritism wasn't something parents were supposed to show even if was present. Cica hated the fact that Hermes neglected his other children, and only took interest in his kids when they were becoming rebels.

Cica shook his head, clearing his thoughts. Hermes wasn't going to ruin his good mood. He needed to be ready for the Capture the Flag game; Cica had a feeling that the hunters' winning streak would end today. Cica entered his cabin at 6:30, and quickly showered before changing into a different pair of clothes.

His slipped out before his cabin mates even knew he was there. Most slept until noon anyway, so they wouldn't be up until much later. Cica made his way to the pavilion, where the early birds always met up. He plopped down in his usual table and quickly ordered waffles, scrambled eggs, and bacon, with coffee to drink. He felt the bench shift as Eli sat down beside him, ordering his usual sausage omelet.

"Morning," Eli sat after he took his first bite.

Cica nodded in response, his mouth full with a fork of eggs. They ate in silence at first, just like every morning. Eli and Cica always got up early and ran; while Cica was abnormally fast, Nike's children loved running (they like marathons). They occasionally ran together, but they both liked different spots to run. Cica ran along the beach, while Eli ran in the forest.

They ate in their usual, serene silence, before Cica nudged Eli with his elbow.

"Agility training today?"

Eli's golden irises lit up with excitement as he heard the word agility mentioned. "Definitely."

-X-

**Two Hours Later**

Kayla groggily ran a hand through her long blonde locks as she tried to blink the sleep out of her eyes. She didn't sleep well the night before; she was busy running strategies through her mind. But she was stumped; how was she supposed to fight against someone so much faster than she was?

Kayla was an exceptional archer, but she wasn't a magician. There was no way in Hades she would be able to shoot Cica unless he was standing still. Similar thoughts began to mull through her head—unfortunately, all her plans ended up with getting Cica's spear shoved into her torso.

She continued to stumble sleepily behind Artemis, who was leading the group to the camp, which was really close now. Kayla's cobalt eyes scanned the group, and found that the other girls seemed just as exhausted as she was, excluding Artemis. Kayla turned to Thalia, who was walking to her left.

"Do you think we'll win tonight?" Kayla asked her.

Thalia's head snapped up; she must have been in deep thought. "Huh?"

Kayla frowned. "I've never seen you thinking that hard."

Thalia smiled mockingly to the light-hearted jab and nudged Kayla with her shoulder. "Hilarious."

"What were you thinking about?" Kayla asked, forgetting about her original question.

Thalia looked conflicted for a second. "Something feels . . . off."

Artemis stopped walking, and the hunters followed her lead. They thought it was nothing, until her bow appeared in her hands. The hunters followed suit, weapons popping out of sheathes and pockets, and all traces of lethargy leaving their postures. They quickly made a circle, prepared for anything that Artemis might have sensed.

"Milady?" Phoebe asked quietly.

Artemis's sharp, silver eyes scanned the tree line. "Thalia is correct; something is most definitely incorrect. I do not sense the campers, and we are close enough that we should be able to."

"Maybe your senses are off," Kayla suggested.

Artemis shook her head. "That has never happened before."

They heard a bush rustle, and the hunters snapped towards its direction. They were surprised to see a camper—a boy stumble out, covered in gashes and bruises. He was holding a sleek, grey bow, and had a quiver over his shoulder. He had golden irises that radiated intelligence and a sense of serenity, and spiked brown hair. Despite the calm air his eyes seemed to hold, his posture threw it off. He moved swiftly, as if he was running from something.

"Eli?" Thalia asked incredulously, "What are you doing out here?"

Eli put his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. He glanced back the way he came, nocked an arrow, and fired it with deadly accuracy into the trees. A telekhine dropped from the trees with a grey arrow in its neck. He turned back to the hunters, and gasped out, "Camp . . . fallen."

-X-

**Two Hours Earlier**

Percy woke up to the sound the war alarm. He was up in a flash, Riptide elongating before he was even fully out of his bunk. Sean jumped up next to him, looking around in confusion.

"Come on!" Percy shouted.

Thankfully, Sean didn't protest and quickly followed Percy outside the cabin. Percy's eyes widened at the sight before him. The force field that Thalia's tree created—normally invisible—was illuminated. Percy stared at the blue dome that covered the camp. But why had the war alar—

Suddenly, hundreds of black arrows tore holes directly through the border, not being stopped in the slightest by the protective shield. The arrows were trailed by black smoke—no, _shadows_. It was as if the arrows were magnets for the darkness, drawing all of it that was nearby to the projectile.

Percy tackled Sean down, pulling him behind the cabin. The arrows peppered the camp, striking down the campers that didn't make it to any sort of cover. Percy looked around frantically, trying to figure out what was happening. Someone stood from cover—Cica. Immediately, more black arrows rocketed through the borders, heading for the camp.

"Cica!" Percy shouted.

Cica ran swiftly—tapping into his speed ability—out of the line of fire and ducked behind the cabin with Percy, just as another wave of projectile slammed into the earth. Cica's icy-blue eyes were wide with shock and disbelief.

"How are those arrows making it through the borders?" Cica inquired frantically.

Percy didn't have an answer.

"Phalanxes! Form phalanxe—"

Percy watched in absolute horror as several arrows tore into Clarisse's body. Her lifeless body hit the ground, quickly followed by several of the Ares campers near her. The worst part? Percy couldn't do anything. There were only ranged targets; no monsters were invading. There were only projectiles. All the campers could do was fire arrows back, hoping to make contact with the enemy. After watching his rival—and friend—fall to the arrows, Percy was fueled by fury.

At that moment, monsters poured through the borders, only being slightly slowed by the force field. Percy turned to Sean.

"Stay here and stay quiet! If one comes near you, yell for Cica or me, okay?"

Sean nodded, the fear evident in his eyes. Percy and Cica charged into the fight, each gutting monsters with their weapons. Percy ducked under a leaping hellhound and slashed open its belly, expecting it to explode into dust.

It didn't.

The monster bled—actual blood—and landed on the ground in a lifeless heap. Percy didn't have time to wonder why it didn't go to Tartarus; a telekhine swung its sword at his head, but he ducked under it and drove Riptide into its chest before twirling and slashing a Laistrygonian's neck open. Just like the hellhound, neither exploded into dust.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cica moving as fast as an Olympic sprinter, impaling monsters with his spear. Skeletons brushed past Percy and leapt into the fray, telling him that Nico was somewhere and actively fighting. A sleek grey arrow struck an approaching dracaena—Eli was here too. Percy fought his hardest, putting all his strength into each blow.

_For Clarisse_, Percy thought, as he gored another monster. Percy took a step back, and saw Travis Stoll get stabbed in the gut, and as his brother's throat was slashed next to him. He noticed Travis toss two contraptions over the enemy lines as the light left his eyes. Moments later, two green explosions went off, torching a huge amount of monsters.

Katie Gardener screamed for Travis, before stabbing everything in sight. She got hit in the chest with an arrow, but kept fighting until more ground forces overran her.

Percy screamed with rage, raised the water from the nearby creek. He slammed the enemy forces repeatedly, trying to crush them all for his fallen friends. Soon he ran out of energy and couldn't hold the water any longer, so he dropped it on his head, reenergizing himself.

He charged again, but he ran into something that felt like a brick wall. He looked forward, but saw nothing. The others noticed this, tapping the invisible wall that had magically appeared in front of them. The monsters took several steps back, letting their weapons lower.

"Demigods," a voice echoed from somewhere, "this fight is hopeless. Surrender is your best option. Will you succumb to the darkness?"

All was silent.

"LIKE HELL WE WILL!" Cica shouted, followed up by furious cheers from the campers.

"BRING IT ON!" He screamed afterward, evoking more screams of agreement.

The voice chuckled. "Your funeral. Dionysus, sweetie, would you like to fight some?"  
Percy turned to see Dionysus with a look of pure rage on his face. Percy knew Mr. D cared deep down for the campers, but Percy had absolutely no idea Mr. D could look so hateful. He snapped his fingers, and transformed out of his middle-aged, rotund form, and into the form of a fit twenty-year-old man. He was clad in full body armor, with a thyrsus in his hand. His purple eyes burned with an intense fire, with a hint of madness.

"It is not wise to mess with insanity," Mr. D warned, scarily calm.

A figure materialized on the hill by Thalia's pine tree. It was a woman, dressed in an elegant black dress. She had onyx eyes and dark curls, and beautifully pale skin. She was a knockout, but the wild and cruel look in her eyes made her look like the kind of person you wouldn't want to be near. A pure black sword that seemed to attract the shadows was present in her hand. She smirked.

"Come and get me, wine god."

-X-

The invisible wall fell immediately after Dionysus engaged the woman in black. Cica burned with hatred; adrenaline and pure willpower were the only things him going. He was a machine—an arc of destruction. It got to the point where he wasn't even looking at what he stabbed.

His spear found skin. For Travis.

His blade drew blood from something's throat. For Connor.

Cica tapped into his speed, making each movement swifter than the last. He vaguely noticed grey arrows hitting each target that Cica skipped or missed—Eli was cleaning up Cica's leftovers. He saw Percy tearing through the lines, which actually frightened Cica. Percy's sea green eyes were dark and ferocious, like a hurricane that was preparing to unleash its power on an unprepared town. Percy's sword was a weapon unmatched by all, winning in every confrontation.

Cica turned back to his own fight, driving his spear through three enemies, making some sort of twisted shis-kebab. He quickly pulled it out, allowing the monsters to drop to the earth. A sword bit though his thigh, evoking a yelp of pain. Cica quickly backed up, avoiding the next blow. A boy had pushed through the crowd, his obsidian eyes focused on Cica's icy-blue ones.

His dark sword was stained with Cica's blood. Cica glanced down, evaluating his injury. It was minor, and barely hurt to stand on it. He would be fine for now, until the adrenaline wore off. The boy smirked at him, ducking under another camper's blow and stabbing her in the stomach.

Cica glared at the boy, before charging with his spear. He sidestepped and jabbed with his sword, but Cica parried it with the bottom tip of his spear. Cica tested the boy's defense by jabbing with his spear, but the boy slapped it aside with his blade before swinging his free hand in the form of a fist.

Cica felt that usual tug in his gut as he ducked under the punch, and he then stabbed forward toward the boy's stomach. The boy sidestepped, but the spear glanced his side, drawing a small amount of blood. The boy growled angrily.

"All you demigods will fall to my blade," he threatened.

Cica snorted humorlessly. "That's a nice goal, but hardly in your reach. You're last sight will be my spear entering your chest."

The boy scoffed and slashed at him. Cica used his speed to avoid it, before swinging his spear like a baseball bat. The boy ducked under is and lashed out with his sword, slicing through Cica's bicep. The boy tried to cut him again, but Cica slammed his sword away with the shaft of his spear, before stabbing at the boy's leg. He apparently wasn't expecting it, so the spear went straight into his leg, right above his knee. Cica pulled it out, smiling as the boy began to bleed.

"You are fighting a son of Erebus, spawn of Hermes. Prepare to die."

The boy disappeared into the shadows. The hair on Cica's neck stood up, causing him to whirl around, holding his spear in a defensive stance.

It was perfect.

The son of Erebus had brought his sword down in a downward arc, but it harmlessly glanced off of Cica's spear shaft, causing sparks to fly as the metals collided. Cica shoved outward, the shaft pushing the boy into a monster. The monster got stabbed at that exact moment, causing it to fall. The boy was off-balance, and couldn't recover before he tripped over the monster falling onto his back and dropping his weapons.

Cica quickly took advantage of the situation, and drove his spear though the boy's chest. Cica couldn't help himself, and muttered, "I told you so."

-X-

Eli fired arrow after arrow, taking down at least one target with each shot. While the powerhouses—he, Percy, and Cica—were prevailing in their fights, the rest of the campers weren't doing great. They were getting slowly pushed backwards towards the lake, where they would be entirely cut off.

Eli could see Dionysus going one-on-one with the lady shrouded in darkness, but he seemed to be losing. Chiron and a couple Apollo campers were next to Eli, raining death on the seemingly endless horde of monsters.

Then, a black arrow struck Chiron in the chest. He cantered backwards in shock, as _red_ blood poured from his chest. Not ichor. But . . . Chiron was immortal. Wasn't he? Then, Eli remembered the words that Chiron had told him when Eli first arrived at camp so many years ago.

_"The Chiron? Like the ones from the myths? Shouldn't you be dead?" Eli asked him._

_ Chiron smiled in amusement. "No. I am partially immortal; I was granted immortality, but it would only last as long as I could do what I love: teaching and training heroes. As long as I'm needed, I will remain immortal."_

Eli realized in horror that if Chiron was no longer immortal, then he was no longer needed to train heroes. This was the end. The camp was destined to fall.

Chiron's legs buckled, so he collapsed onto the ground. Eli and Will Solace quickly knelt beside him, Will desperately trying to heal him, but nothing was working. Chiron softly grabbed Will's hands, and moved them away from his wound. He laughed weakly.

"It is my time. I knew this day would come . . . I die for my heroes," he whispered, his voice gradually becoming lower.

With that sentence said, the light left his eyes. Eli stood, hatred flaring in his golden eyes. They had the _audacity_ to kill Chiron? Their teacher? Their trainer? Their _father_? Eli nocked three arrows at once and fired them into the fray, each one finding its mark. Eli swung his bow around his shoulder and cupped his hands.

"CHIRON IS DEAD!"

Eli saw Percy spin around, and his eyes fall on Chiron's body. Percy slashed a hellhound away, and he opened his mouth to yell. Before he could, a pained scream tore through the battle, stopping the fighting immediately. All eyes turned to the hill, where the woman in black had driven her sword through Mr. D's chest. His thyrsus was stained with ichor, but his armor was torn up and stained with blood. The tip of the black blade protruded from his back.

The woman laughed maniacally. "The first blood of the new age!"

The monsters screamed with glee. The woman smirked mockingly. "Death feels strange, doesn't it, wine god? I bet you thought I couldn't entirely kill you. You told me it wasn't wise to mess with insanity, didn't you? Well I have a new message; it isn't wise to mess with _darkness_."

With that said, she pulled the sword out of Dionysus's chest, causing him to drop to his knees, and then onto his side. He rolled over facing the sky.

"Avenge me, Peter," Mr. D said loud enough for everyone to hear, before blinking out of existence.

Dionysus, the god of wine and madness, had faded.

-X-

Percy wanted to cry, scream, and throw up, all at the same time. Chiron's death made him want to break down and quit, and Dionysus's fading only made it worst. They were outmatched and outgunned.

"RETREAT TO THE BEACH! GET TO THE CANOES AND BOATS!" Percy screamed.

The campers listened and ran back for the boats. Percy made his way through the fray before scooping up Sean, who was still behind the cabin. Percy reached the dock, where the demigods that were able to fight had set up a perimeter while the younger demigods were loaded in the spare boats and canoes. All they had to do was get in the boats, and then make it to the Long Island Sound, where he could then navigate the boats out into the ocean. It was their only chance of escape.

Percy saw Cica and Eli still at the front, not falling back.

"CICA, ELI, FALL BACK!" They glanced at Percy for a moment, and Percy saw the fiery determination in their eyes. They would not be coming. The two had decided to fight to the death.

"WE'LL HOLD THEM BACK!" Cica screamed, "DON'T WAIT FOR US!"

Percy reluctantly nodded. He had to get the rest to safety. Nico suddenly materialized next to him in a shadow. He leapt out and struck a hellhound that was about to bite Percy's leg. Percy nodded in thanks—no words were needed.

Percy fought for minute after minute as the boats loaded up. Finally, they were full. All that remained were the ones defending the perimeter. The surviving Apollo kids fired from the boats, but they didn't have much else support.

"Perimeter, fall back!" Percy shouted.

The demigods ran to the dock and hopped in the nearest boats. As the monsters clambered down the docks, Percy manipulated the currents to thrust them towards the Long Island Sound. Arrow struck a couple of the demigods on board, but didn't kill to many of them. Percy pushed his hands in an outward motion, sending a tidal wave at the docks, crushing the monsters that were firing arrows.

Percy finally it to the Long Island Sound, and promptly passed out from exhaustion.

**A/N: Is it just me, or was that fight epic? I thought Dionysus went down bravely. I wanted to show a side of him that no one else got to see. If you were wondering who my favorite characters were, that would be Travis and Connor. Unfortunately for me, they had to die. I thought Travis's suicide grenade thing was pretty awesome. And then Katie went all Rambo because Travis died. I felt like Katie would be a depressed wreck if she lived and Travis died, so she died as well. Sorry if you liked the characters that died.**

**The next chapter will start with Cica and Eli, and then continue from when the hunters found Eli. Hopefully, the eight member of the prophecy will show up soon. Anyway, please leave reviews! I love hearing from you guys/girls!**

** Oh, and you will get more background on Cica and Eli next chapter as well. Background as in before they came to the camp. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Hope?

**A/N: Chapter 3! This starts off with Cica and Eli, after Percy and the others made it to the Long Island Sound. Leave Reviews! And thanks for reading! **

** EL IMPORTANTO NOTO: (Like my Spanish?) anyway, I have decided this will be a Pertemis story. So I found Percy's pairing finally.**

**SET PAIRINGS: Cica/Kayla Percy/Artemis (That's it so far. I'll work on Eli next probably)**

** Deftex: **I warned you. Hahaha I did say it would be gloriously badass.

** Duskrend14: **Glad you liked it. And the fact that you were thinking about CTF means my idea worked. I was trying to distract you so you would be totally surprised when that battle came. I'm glad I didn't disappoint.

**xRinneandSharinx**: Yes, there are lots of stories where Percy's brother/sister are complete assholes, so I decided to make one where they are nice and innocent. And yes, this does mean Poseidon broke the oath twice, since this take place after TLO. I'll get to that as well.

**UltimateHades**: Yes, I did think about Percy staying, because he is so selfless, but he recognized the fact that someone had to protect the ones that were fleeing, and he gave himself the responsibility to do that. He knew that Cica and Eli were qualified, and that there was no negotiating. They will be reunited later on, which means some Pertemis!

**Chapter Three: Hope?**

Cica cut down several monsters as Percy got to the boats. He ducked under a stab and drove his weapon into a dracanae's stomach, and then twirled to avoid a thrown spear. Eli shot arrows almost as fast as an automatic weapon, but there were too many to hold off with just two people.

Cica glanced at Eli and gave him a curt nod: time to bolt. Most of the monsters had gone off towards the docks, leaving Eli and Cica to deal with about thirty or forty monsters between the two of them. The lady wearing black was nowhere to be seen, but Cica wasn't planning on waiting for her to show up again.

As the remainder of the monsters charged him, he took one last look at the place he called home. Regular fire as well as Greek fire was burning everything. His icy-blue eyes took in the sight of his fallen friends and campers, and how the horrible monster army was dirtying his home with their presence. When Cica took this moment to watch his home be destroyed, he solemnly swore that he would see this place rebuilt—someday.

For now, they were routed, and the camp had lost at least ninety percent of the population—a percentage that made him want to sit down and weep. Cica didn't know how or when, but he would be back.

Cica valiantly fought off the monsters as he gave Eli time to escape. At least one of them needed to escape, in order to get word to whoever was still out there—whether it were satyrs, the Hunters, or even stray demigods. Cica fought for maybe five minutes, only receiving small cuts and bruises. He killed maybe ten, possibly fifteen monsters until he was about to be overrun. Cica turned and ran, following in Eli's footsteps.

-X-

Kayla stared at the archer—Eli, as Thalia had just called him—incredulously.

"What do you mean camp has _fallen_, boy?" Kayla spat, her annoyance increasing every second that she was in the presence of this male.

"Monsters got past the borders . . . they slaughtered almost everyone . . . Cica is still back there and I have to—" Eli began.

Another shape burst out of the bushes. It was a slender boy with icy-blue eyes, tousled blond hair, and tanned skin. He carried a double-tipped spear, and his face had a stony expression. His thigh bled through a pair of black gym shorts, and dried blood had splattered his white tee, most prominent by his shoulder. His face was streaked with grime and blood, and his body looked battered and blue. His chest heaved for breath, and he swayed violently, like he was on the verge of passing out.

"I'm here," the boy said, interrupting Eli.

"Who are you?" Phoebe spat, her bow pointed at him now.

The boy held up his free hand. "Not an enemy! Look, we need to move, now! They aren't far behind me!"

Thalia's face lit up in recognition. "Cica?"

He nodded in confirmation. "Look, the camp borders failed. We need to go. I have lots on my tail. Act first, questions later, got it?"

Kayla didn't appreciate being ordered around by a male, but didn't object. Eli looked at Artemis.

"Lady Artemis, you need to flash us somewhere safe, quickly," Eli said.

Artemis closed her eyes, and the group was sucked away just as a black arrow nailed a tree, two inches from where Eli was standing.

-X-

Athena knew something was wrong before she even got to the throne room. She was in casual clothing (jeans and a blouse); she hadn't expected a council meeting. She walked down the street of Olympus, but something was terribly off. The atmosphere was tense and thick, like everyone was waiting for something. Athena frowned and looked around, catching the eyes of several minor gods. Some looked like they noticed the tension as well, glancing around anxiously as if they expected something to occur on the street.

Athena's grey eyes stopped scanning when they landed on a goddess that was a rather rare sight on Olympus: Khione. The goddess of winter flashed her a sickly sweet smile, causing Athena to frown. Another god brushed by her, momentarily blocking her vision. When he moved past, Khione was no longer there.

Athena hesitantly backed away, before heading to the throne room again. She reached the doors and pushed them open. She walked down the main hall of Olympus before coming to the massive, Celestial bronze doors that guarded the throne room. She pushed open the doors to see the Olympian council outfitted in full armor.

Zeus and Poseidon talked animatedly, using their hands to express their emotions. Zeus's hands shook and twitched, revealing that he was nervous or upset. Poseidon's moved quickly and fluently, like he was trying to convince Zeus about something.

"What is going on here?" Athena asked curiously.

"Has no one—" Zeus began incredulously.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the throne room doors, which had closed after Athena had entered the throne room. The room quieted almost instantly. Who _knocked_ on the throne room doors? Most of the time, gods just came and went as they pleased . . . no one really ever knocked. It was just rather surprising.

Zeus grunted. "Enter."

Immediately, the throne room doors were blasted off the hinges, sending debris and smoke into the room. The Olympians shrieked with surprise, utterly astonished. A black arrow streaked through the smoke, hitting Hephaestus directly in the forehead. The gods watched in absolute shock as he blinked and disappeared.

Hephaestus had just faded.

By being hit with a _single_ arrow.

A single arrow.

The gods grabbed their weapons, while Aphrodite wailed for her husband, who had now joined the realm of the Faded, in Aether's dimension. A voice chuckled, the smoke still pouring into the throne room.

"Well, that is the second Olympian I have eliminated today. I thought you gods would be more difficult to defeat to be honest," a feminine voice muttered.

"Who dares kill an Olympian god? You will pay for your insolence!" Zeus roared.

The voice laughed heartily and ignored him. "You want to know what the wine god's last words were?"

The council froze. Athena hadn't even noticed that Dionysus was absent. The voice said she had killed two Olympians . . . gods . . . she had slain Dionysus as well as Hephaestus.

"Surprisingly, he did not grovel at my feet, begging for mercy. You know what he did, Zeus?"

No one answered.

"He asked the Jackson boy to avenge him. Isn't that cute?"

Zeus's face had grown red. "You will be stopped! Our children will come to our aide, and we will strike you down, whoever you are, just like we did Kronos!"

The voice laughed a third time. "Goddess of rainbows, show me Camp Half-Blood. Make the screen large, please. I want Zeus to see _everything_."

A small screen developed before the gods, slowly scanning the camp. Green flames as well as orange ones licked the Big House and wooden cabins, and the ground was almost entirely littered with bodies, monsters and demigods alike. Craters were prominent, and the camp was littered with stray arrows, stuck into about everything imaginable. It was clear that the demigods lost; monsters roamed the camp laughing and conversing as if they hadn't just slaughtered a bunch of kids.

The throne room was in complete silence. Their kids . . . gone? Dead?

The voice laughed, and a figure stepped through the smoke, which had been continuously flowing through the doors. It was a woman wearing a long, flowing black dress. She had deep and cruel onyx eyes, and curly, dark locks.

"Hello, Olympians," The woman stated. "Erebus, sweetie, I think its time we take over."

A second figure stepped through the smoke. It was a ripped man, with a dark leather jacket on over a black tee. His pants were—you guessed it—pitch black, along with the combat boots he wore on his feet. The man had a quiver of arrows on his back, and a bow in his hand. He had a smug expression—his onyx eyes glowed with the pompousness that came when one killed another god. Athena snapped her fingers and she became clad in full body armor.

"Which one do you want first, Erebus?" The woman asked.

Erebus mockingly tapped his chin until he pointed at Hermes. "I want him. That fast kid—he's your boy—killed my favorite son during the battle. And for that, I will kill his father. Hermes swallowed nervously, but pulled out his caduceus.

"Oh, a fight!" George exclaimed, "Can we go into laser mode?"

Hermes didn't even look at them. The caduceus quickly morphed into a sword. The Olympians tensed, waiting for someone to make the first move. Erebus's bow evaporated, and was replaced by a spear. The woman held out her hand, and a sword made from pure darkness appeared.

Athena quickly spoke in Hestia's mind. _Leave. I do not believe we will survive this. Somebody has to make it out._

Athena didn't wait for Hestia's reply. She raised her spear, her stormy-grey eyes ablaze with fury and hatred. "FOR OLYMPUS! FOR OUR CHILDREN!"

Athena charged.

-X-

_"Family, Luke," Annabeth whimpered, "you promised."_

_ Luke hesitated. The dagger clattered out of Annabeth's hand and onto the marble floor. Her arm was bent at an unnatural angle; she must have broken it while holding Luke back. _

_ Percy's vision was swimming and his muscles were screaming for rest, but his intense willpower forced his muscles crawl forward towards the defeated daughter of Athena. Riptide was in his right hand, ready to be inserted into Luke's body._

_ "Family . . ." Luke whispered._

_ Backbiter dropped out of his hands and onto the floor. Luke's hands shook slightly, and the golden eyes of Kronos flickered away, revealing the famous, azure eyes of Luke Castellan. _

_ "I-I—" Luke began._

_ Suddenly, his eyes widened and a blood-curdling scream tore through his lips. His veins pulsed with golden energy, and his body began to steam as if it was being cooked. Luke breathed deeply several times, the glowing lessening, before turning to Percy._

_ "Jackson . . . his true form . . . can't hold on," he whispered, before another pulse of gold caused him to scream with agony._

_ Percy watched from his crawling position, and hesitantly looked at his sword. He could end it. He just needed to know where his Achilles Curse was._

_ Luke seemed to notice what he was thinking. "No . . . knife . . ."_

_ Percy moved over to Annabeth, and delicately picked up the dagger, before flipping it into a reverse grip, mentally preparing himself to kill another human being._

_ Luke shook his head. "No . . . I have to . . . I know where . . . spot is . . . got to trust me . . ." _

_Luke's words were becoming wheezes, and the glowing was becoming more intense, forcing Percy to shield his eyes slightly. Percy reluctantly handed Luke the hilt of the dagger, his narrowed eyes watching the son of Hermes like a hawk. He hoped that this wouldn't backfire._

_ If only he had known._

_ As Luke grabbed the dagger, his eyes morphed to gold once more. He grinned sadistically, shoved a stunned Percy aside, and brought the dagger downward._

_ "ANNABETH!" _

Percy jolted awake, rocking the canoe furiously. Sweat matted his hair to his forehead, and his shirt clung to his body. He felt feverishly hot, as if he had been baking in the sun all day. He shut his eyes tightly, trying to force the memory away. Tears pricked at his eyes, but he wouldn't give into them.

He never would.

"Perce?"

Percy's eyes snapped open to see Nico's onyx black eyes looked at him in concern.

"Are you alright?" Nico continued.

Percy swallowed hard, trying to clear all emotion from his voice. "Uh huh. Where are we?"

Nico didn't look convinced, but he didn't probe any more. Nico leaned back and looked around, gazing at the other two canoes.

"A couple miles away from the northern part of Long Island. You've been asleep four hours," Nico said.

Percy frowned. "How did you know where we were?"

Nico pointed to the canoe beside theirs. Sean sat quietly, his face trained on the horizon.

"He's got that weird sea bearings thing like you have," Nico explained.

Percy nodded in understanding. Percy looked around and saw that only three canoes, including the one he was in, survived the escape from the camp. He and Nico occupied the first one. The canoe to his left contained three people: Sean, Malcolm, and an Athena girl that Percy didn't know. The last canoe was on his right, held Will Solace, who had his arms wrapped tightly around someone that looked like a daughter of Hermes.

Malcolm looked the worst by far; both of his eyes were black, and his face was purple and blue. Dried blood was just beneath his nose, which was bent slightly. Malcolm looked like he had just went several rounds against Mike Tyson. The Athena girl leaned into Malcolm, her eyes shut—she was asleep. Will was awake, although the girl he was holding wasn't.

The canoes were stopped in the middle of the water, just bobbing in the bay.

Malcolm noticed Percy was awake. "You alright? You had us worried."

Percy nodded. "I used too much power. That tidal wave was the straw that broke the camel's back. I should've been more careful."

Nico waved his hands dismissively. "No, you saved lots of lives. I think it was worth it."

Percy grinned, but it quickly faded once he remembered something important.

"Cica? Eli?"

The others looked away. Percy's face fell slightly, but he plastered his usual stony, leader-like facade.

"We need to get out of here. No doubt that lady will send aquatic life forms or aerial units after us. We're sitting ducks out of here. Any suggestions?" Percy asked.

Will piped up. "I doubt we'll make it far in these canoes. We need an actual boat."

"Who says we should stay in the water?" Malcolm asked.

"No, I agree with Will," Percy said, "the water is Poseidon's domain. Sean and I can keep us going, but will be little help when it comes to land transportation. I can manipulate the currents, so sea travel would be the fastest."

Malcolm pondered it before nodding in agreement. "Okay. Boat first, then what?"

"Olympus?"

Percy bit his lip. Nico glanced at Will, but Will just shrugged. Percy finally spoke up.

"I have a . . . strange feeling. It sounds weird, but the atmosphere feels different. I . . . I can't explain it better than that. Something feels wrong, and I don't think we should go to Olympus," Percy stated.

Nico nodded. "I have that same feeling."

Malcolm was looking curiously; Percy could practically see the gears turning in his head, only painfully reminding him of Annabeth.

"What are you thinking Malcolm?" Will asked.

Malcolm's intelligent grey eyes flicked to the son of Apollo before going back to Percy. "Well . . . it is true that demigods can sometimes reflect the state of their parent's domain, so if Percy and Nico have this . . . feeling, then it most likely not a coincidence, no matter how strange it sounds. If I'm right about this, then it means that the lady in black has already moved to Olympus. Those feelings mean something is wrong with Poseidon and Hades's domains; they are either hurt, faded, imprisoned, et cetera. I can't think of anything else to explain it."

Percy's blood ran cold. Poseidon . . . faded? As distant as they were, Poseidon was still his birth father. Percy felt like he had just awoken from a stupor; before Malcolm had said that, he had felt like he was in a numbed state—like he was dreaming. Now Percy had broken out of that cocoon; this was very much real. Percy never thought that Camp Half-Blood would ever be destroyed; yet it was. He never thought Dionysus would fade—he did. He never thought . . . he never thought Chiron could die. _Would_ die. Chiron was practically Percy's father, and now he was gone, with who knows how many others.

Annabeth, Travis, Connor, Katie, Clarisse, Dionysus, Chiron, Cica, Eli . . . so many of his friends—all dead. Percy knew Grover was alive; if Grover died, the empathy link would kill Percy instantly, even if he had the Achilles Curse.

"So where to instead of Olympus?" Nico asked.

"Well, we need somewhere safe to hide. If Malcolm is right, and the gods are out of action, of course," Will said, his cobalt eyes flipping back and forth between Nico and Percy.

Percy closed his eyes to help him think. "Somewhere in the ocean . . . somewhere hidden . . ."

"What about the Sea of Monsters?"

Percy's eyes snapped open, startled. It had been so long since he spoke that Percy had entirely forgotten that Sean was even there. The other boys' eyes went to the younger child of Poseidon, filled with curiosity.

"What do you know about the Sea of Monsters, kid?" Malcolm asked.

Sean looked nervous under the looks of the four older boys, but answered.

"Cica told me all about Percy's quests. He said that Percy went to a place called the Sea of Monsters that was dangerous. He said it was full of islands. So can't we hide on the islands?"

Percy was solemn for a minute, before the corners of his mouth twitched upward into a small island. They had hope.

"Nice plan, Sean. Malcolm, I think that might work. We can probably sneak past all the powerful monsters—like Scylla—and head straight for an island. Maybe Circe's old one?"

Malcolm nodded. "Everyone cool with that?"

No one objected.

Percy sighed, beginning to manipulate the currents once more.

"Sea of Monsters, here we come."


	4. Flames of Khaos

** A/N: Chapter 4 is here! Everyone seems to like this story, so I'm going to keep writing it. Thanks for reading! I love hearing from readers so make sure to leave reviews! LOTS OF PLOT DEVELOPMENT IN THIS CHAPTER. This is anything but a filler chapter. Lots of shit goes down at the end.**

** xxXTheBelieverXxx: **Yes, I'm sorry about the deaths. But in order for it to be an apocalypse-style story, not everyone can survive :( but don't worry, the mass amount of deaths will end soon and it will be a more survival and rebellion-type story. Thanks for reviewing!

**ialmostwon51**: Don't worry, I will not give up on this story. Expect lots of updates!

**bambino01**: No Heroes of Olympus characters. It would be a major pain in the ass to incorporate the Romans into this. Sorry.

**Riptide752**: Thanks! I will try to update fast.

**Duskrend14**: Good. I'm glad I'm catching you off guard! I like to be rather surprising, so your reaction means it is working. And thank you for the compliment. And the Sea of Monsters was kind of a spur of the moment thing, but I have a good idea to how the groups will reunite, and one group has to be off the mainland for that idea to work.

** UltimateHades: **Glad you liked it!

**Chapter 4: Flames of Khaos**

An explosion knocked Kayla off her feet the moment they arrived at wherever Artemis shad teleported. The sheer force of the explosion sent her flying into someone else, knocking them both to the floor. Debris rained from the sky, and other explosions sounded, but sounded further away.

She rolled off of Thalia and sat up, trying to figure out where they were. The sounds of warfare were constant, so she drew and arrow from her quiver and loosely nocked it, ready to fire at a moment's notice.

"Shit," She heard Thalia mutter as they took in the sight in front of them.

They were on Olympus, standing by the elevators. Monsters were everywhere, clashing with minor gods as well as the major ones. A man in a black leather jackets was thrashing Hermes, while a woman in a black dress was simultaneously fighting all the remaining gods.

Demeter was in a cage made of shadows, while Aphrodite and Athena were unconscious on the steps leading up to the throne room. The buildings and palaces were burning and falling, covered in god-sized holes.

The group was frozen, staring in shock. Artemis's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. The lady in black backhanded Apollo, sending him crashing into the building next to them, which sprayed roof tiles and bricks into the air. Apollo crawled from the wreckage, and saw Artemis standing there, absolutely astonished.

"Artemis," He croaked.

Artemis ran to Apollo. The monsters seemed to notice them, so the hunters started firing. Kayla and Thalia moved in front of Artemis, protecting the twin archers while they talked. Kayla wasn't going to lie; Cica and Eli were demons. Cica was the only melee fighter in the group; the hunters and Eli used bows. Cica was zipping around, using that unnatural speed ability. Kayla actually felt relieved they hadn't gotten to play capture the flag; Cica would have destroyed her with his agility and swiftness.

"Apollo," Artemis gasped, trying to help him up, "What happened?"

Kayla put a long-range arrow in the forehead of a monster sneaking up on Hermes.

"Erebus and Nyx," He croaked, "They can make gods fade. Hephaestus and Dionysus are gone. Listen to me Artemis,"

Apollo grabbed his sister's shoulders and shook them. "You have to promise to listen to me, Artemis."

Kayla was feeling uneasy now. If Apollo was acting this serious, then the situation was clearly worse than it looked. Artemis nodded frenetically, showing him that she was listening.

"Run," Apollo ordered. "Someone has to survive. Please, Artemis promise me you'll leave. Take your group and find somewhere to hide. Please, Artemis."

Artemis shook her head furiously. "I will NOT leave you behind to deal with these primordials. I will fight to my last, dying—"

"No!" Apollo interrupted loudly. "No you won't. Leave, Artemis, now. Somebody has to remain alive and free. You have to go now. Please. Do it for me, your brother."

Artemis's silver eyes flickered with sadness. Kayla knew just by looking at the moon goddess that she had given in. Surprising most of the hunters around her, Artemis threw her arms around Apollo's neck and buried her face in his chest. Apollo squeezed her tightly before pushing her back softly.

"Go," He prompted.

Artemis turned to her group. "Hunters, fall back!"

The perimeter dropped, and quickly moved to Artemis. Apollo stepped in between the monsters and the hunt, making the monsters hesitate slightly. Artemis closed her eyes preparing to teleport.

"Oh, and Arty," Apollo said without turning around, "You can be the older twin."

The group was sucked away from Olympus.

-X-

The canoes hit the sand with a soft thump. Percy and Nico stepped out from their canoe, gazing around curiously. They had landed on a beach, but didn't see any docks nearby. They were somewhere on the northern tip of Long Island, miles and miles away from where camp was—no, _had been_. Only the memory of Camp Half-Blood lived on.

Malcolm walked further up the beach, staring into the forest that was just behind the beach.

"So," he began, "where do you think the nearest dock is?"

Will and Leah—the daughter of Hermes—both shrugged. Sean stayed quiet, while Nico poked at a small ring on his index finger. The daughter of Athena—Percy learned that her name was Violet—was biting her bottom lip, her face twisted into a thinking face that reminded him so much of Annabeth that it made him want to lie down on the sand and then cry his eyes out. Luckily, he had self-control, and managed to look totally unaffected.

"I guess we can head north," Will suggested. "Maybe there are a couple docks in the most northern area of Long Island."

Percy looked up at the sky to see that the sun was beginning to fall. He assumed it was around six or seven in the evening, maybe even around eight. Malcolm seemed to catch on to his train of thought.

"We'll have to camp for the night after a little walking. It's getting late and there's no way we could make it to the trip in less than three hours."

They could've gotten back into the canoes, but frankly, Percy was exhausted from the amount of power he had used that day. His face was unnaturally pale, and his hands shook slightly from his lack of energy and food.

The group began their trek.

-X-

The snap of a finger was heard. The throne room walls immediately turned black, as did the floor and ceiling. A sigh of content echoed through the room.

"Ah, much better," Nyx said, her onyx eyes gazing at the color of the interior approvingly.

She snapped her fingers again, and a large fireplace appeared. Black stones encompassed the fire—which was about the size of a manhole—so the fire wouldn't spread. The only thing that made the fireplace look out of place were the flames; they were a pitch-black color, but an occasional streak of dark red would flare up.

A triumphant grin found its way onto Nyx's face. Phase one was complete; imprison or kill all the gods that were not loyal to her. Now, it was time for phase two.

"Khione," Nyx said, "Bring them in here."

"Yes, ma'am," Khione replied as she slid off of the throne that belonged to Hera only a couple hours beforehand. She evaporated in a chilly mist, before returning with nine people. The surviving Olympians, excluding Artemis, who, unfortunately, had escaped, were bound in Celestial bronze shackles, preventing them from using any of their powers whatsoever.

Erebus had apparently come with Khione, and he stood behind the Olympians, eyeing them warily. The gods looked terrible; they were cut up and bruised, but also broken emotionally. Zeus sat on the throne room floor, staring blankly ahead. Poseidon's eyes briefly flashed with fury, before they turned to Athena, and then back to Nyx. Hermes was unconscious still; Erebus wanted to kill him, But Nyx told him not to. Nyx thought their victory would be sweeter if they were forced to watch as they tore down everything they knew and loved.

"May I have your attention?" Nyx asked.

The gods that weren't looking at her gave Nyx their attention.

"Does anyone know what this is?" Nyx asked, directing her question more at Athena than anyone else. Surprisingly, someone else answered.

"A sacrificial flame," Apollo stated. When he saw everyone's baffled looks, he just shrugged. "I know a lot about fire. The sun is a ball of fiery gas."

Nyx nodded appreciatively. "Nice job, Apollo."

Hatred filled his eyes as she smirked at him. Tormenting them was the best part.

"Erebus," Nyx called. "The weapons, if you would."

He snapped, and a small crate appeared next to the sacrificial flame. She reached in and grabbed a golden trident. Poseidon's eyes narrowed as she held it out for him to see.

"How are you not combusting?" Athena asked curiously.

Nyx crouched and pinched Athena's cheek and shook it a bit, causing the wisdom goddess to scowl hatefully at her.

"While it's true that gods can't wield others' symbols of power, I can. I'm a different breed, wisdom goddess. I am a protogenoi—a primordial. Dealing with you Olympians was like taking out the garbage. I'm in an entirely different league; I can most likely wield your symbols of power better than you can yourself. Anyway, time for the fun part."

Nyx turned to the sacrificial flame. "Khione, would you fetch Iris for me?"

The goddess of winter soon returned with a rather beat up and bloody goddess of rainbows.

"You," Nyx said. "Give them a view of the world from space."

"Rot in Tartarus," Iris spat.

Khione reared back and struck Iris across the face, knocking her to the floor. Khione then kicked her in the stomach, knocking the air from Iris's lungs.

"I will ask one more time," Nyx said. "Deny my orders, and I'll torture you myself."

Iris glared at her.

"Just do it, Iris," Demeter begged.

Iris's eyes softened slightly, but the hate was still present. She raised her hands up, and a large screen appeared in front of them, showing them a view of Earth from space. Nyx smiled, looking at the trident.

"What are you doing to my trident, Nyx?" Poseidon asked, hostility evident in his voice.

Nyx smirked. "Oh, you know. Just releasing the Flames of Khaos."

That was enough to put the entire room in silence. Nyx gave Athena a wide, fake smile.

"Do you know what these are, dear?" She asked Athena.

Athena spat at Nyx's feet. Nyx swung her leg back and then forward again, connecting with Athena's jaw. Her head snapped backwards as she fell onto her back.

"You bitch!" Poseidon snarled as shuffled towards Athena, who was groaning in pain.

"As I was saying," Nyx said, staring distastefully at Athena's spit on the marble floor, "does anyone know what the Flames of Khaos are?"

"Khaos, as in the creator of the universe?" Zeus questioned, the blank look fading from his eyes.

Nyx nodded and smiled in a condescending manner. "Very good, Zeusy. I see you have been doing your homework. Now, do you know what happened to Khaos?"

Zeus frowned. "He faded with most of the other primordials, like Aether, Pontus, and Ouranos."

Nyx pointed an admonishing finger at him. "That is where you are wrong. As creator, it is actually impossible for Khaos to fade. Khaos has been in a deep sleep for eons, kind of like Gaia. Fortunately for me, there is a way to communicate with him during his millennia-long hibernation: dreams. It is rather degrading to have to stoop so low to have demigod dreams, but I can swallow my pride if it means awakening my father. Anyway, Khaos has agreed to aid me in taking this world over and overthrowing you. I already did the latter, so all he needs to do now is too officially destroy the Fifth Age. In order to do that, I have to look to the oldest prophecy in existence. Does anyone know what that is?"

Silence.

"It's called the Perishing Song. Everyone who read it and attempted to make sense of it died. It is a cursed prophecy, not meant for the eyes of mortals or even demigods; the prophecy can only be read by the most powerful primordials, which includes me. I have a . . . _counterpart_ that can also read it, but she has chosen not to ally herself with me. Anyway, the Perishing Song states that the Pillars—the mortal embodiments— of the Fifth Age must be destroyed, along with other key pieces of the time period. Ananke, the primordial of destiny, subconsciously chooses demigods that are the most fitting to become Pillars. The demigods are unaware that they are Pillars, but they will find out soon once my sword is in their chests. Unfortunately for me, none were killed in the attack on your children's camp, which means I will have to track them down."

Poseidon frowned. "What does that have to do with my trident?"

Nyx smiled deviously. "Your symbols of power are some of the key pieces of the time period that I spoke about earlier. Fortunately for me, my second plan of action does not require for the Pillars to be dead. All I need are the Big Three's symbols of power."

Zeus perked up. "Then we have a chance! You haven't captured my elder brother!"

Nyx just shook her head. "I really thought you would have noticed earlier how he didn't come to your defense. He was rather easy to manipulate, actually. I exploited his extreme hatred of you, Zeus. You shun him and keep him away from Olympus, and don't give him a throne . . . gods! You practically did the work for me! Khione, would you summon Hades?"

Khione disappeared and the reappeared, with a god of the underworld. He looked total fine, without any bruises or wounds. He was weaponless, and his dark eyes were glazed over.

"Hades?" Zeus asked incredulously, and then became furious. "You fucking traitor!"

Nyx busted out laughing when Hades didn't even twitch. They all ignored her.

Hades's onyx eyes flicked to Zeus. "I will no longer be ignored. I have sat in my realm for eons, wishing that one day I could come to Olympus . . . to belong. Now . . . this is my chance."

Hades's voice was chilled and emotionless. Poseidon frowned.

"This . . . this isn't Hades," He said finally. He turned to Nyx. "What have you done to him?"

Nyx tsked. "How did all of you allow Poseidon to figure this out first? Oh, never mind. Anyway, I took control over him."

Athena's grey eyes narrowed a bit. "How would you take over a member of the Big Three?"

Nyx smirked. "First I had to get him in a weak emotional state, so I killed that springtime bitch . . . what was her name? Poppy? Peaches? Paddy?"

Demeter's eyes widened in realization. "YOU KILLED MY DAUGHTER? I WILL TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB!"

Demeter thrashed against her shackles, trying to get to Nyx. She smiled and nodded at Erebus. Erebus's spear appeared in his hands. He swung the blunt end into Demeter's head, knocking her out cold.

"Now that that is over, I will continue," Nyx said, her onyx orbs eyeing Demeter's unconscious form in amusement. "I thrive off of negative emotions, so I managed to implant a part of my essence into Hades here. What I managed to do was trap the sensitive and moral part of his soul deep inside him, where it wouldn't be able to influence his actions. Now, the cold bastard that all of you have created indirectly is stuck on the outside. Of course, he doesn't understand anything I am saying, or anything that he is actually doing. He is in a comatose state internally, but I am controlling him. I think it is ironic that you are being overthrown by the god that you casted away, the one you gave the littlest of value to. Ironic, really."

The conscious gods stared at Hades in remorse and pity. His cruel eyes didn't reveal an emotion.

"Alright," Nyx said finally, "on with the show."

Nyx walked up to the sacrificial fire and dropped the trident in. Poseidon screamed with pain as it burned, to the point where his voice was cracking. Athena was crying and trying to hold him, but he was thrashing around in agony. Zeus stared in fear. He would be next.

Quickly, the trident was consumed. A normal fire would have taken days to melt it, but the sacrificial fire would eat Olympus in its entirety in ten minutes if it were released.

Poseidon's chest heaved with breaths, while Athena helplessly tried to console him, even swallowing her pride enough to bury her face into his neck, practically giving him an armless embrace.

Nyx smiled sadistically. "That was fun. Next."

Erebus handed her the Master Bolt. Zeus's eyes filled with fear. "Please! No!"

Nyx dropped the bolt into the sacrificial flames. Zeus screamed in agony as his skin began to steam vehemently. Hera watched with teary eyes as her husband was put through torture. Nyx liked it though; it was like an added bonus to taking over the world.

Quickly, the bolt was consumed. Two down, one to go.

"Hades, your helm, please," Nyx ordered.

Hades reached up robotically and removed his Helm of Darkness from his head, revealing his oily black locks.

"H-Hades," Poseidon croaked. "F-Fight it . . . please . . ."

For a millisecond, Hades faltered and the fog cleared from his eyes, but Nyx pumped a little more of her essence into him, squashing his rebellious soul. Hades would not be able to break free. Nyx removed the helm from Hades before turning to Erebus.

"Shackle him."

Hades was soon on his knees next to Athena and Poseidon, his eyes still murky. Once Nyx burned the helm, she would release her control on him. Nyx dropped the helm.

Hades let out a pained roar, tears pooling in his now cleared eyes. The scream was so agonized that it made anyone want to put him out of his misery. When he recovered his breath, he glared hatefully at Nyx.

"I . . . I will d-destroy you," he gasped.

Nyx giggled. "That's hilarious. Now, for the main event."

Nyx gestured to Iris's screen, which was still floating in front of the throne.

"I sacrifice the Big Three's symbols of power to the essence of Khaos. My Lord and Father, I ask of you to release your rage on the Earth. Release the Flames of Khaos."

The throne room heated up exponentially, causing Nyx to start sweating a bit. On the view of the Earth, a small orange light appeared in New York. Then, it slowly expanded in all directions, forming a small ring of orange. It gradually became faster, spreading across America at the same time it travelled south and east and north. It stretched far, eventually wrapping around the entire Earth. When every sliver of the Earth had been covered, the orange light faded.

The Earth, which once looked green and blue, was now a deathly black, leaving only the sea unaffected—it stayed its pure aqua color. All the green was gone, covered in a volcanic black color.

Demeter, who had woken up, whispered, "What have you done?"

Her form blinked a couple times, before fading entirely.

"Demeter!" Hades yelled.

Erebus chuckled. "Was that intentional?"

Nyx shrugged. "Does it matter?"

Athena recovered first. "Why did Demeter fade? What did you do to the Earth?"

Nyx shook her head admonishingly. "The prideful wisdom goddess hasn't figured it out?"

"Do not speak to her like that," Poseidon spat, his sea green eyes swirling dangerously.

To be frank, Poseidon actually frightened Nyx slightly. But it didn't matter.

"Demeter had faded because the Flames of Khaos have just burned almost every single piece of nature in existence. Her domain has been ravished, forcing her to fade. Of course, some plants have survived, but they will likely die soon anyway."

"Do the flames . . ." Apollo's voice trailed off.

Aphrodite seemed to have realized what Apollo was going to say. "Do the flames affect mortals and demigods?"

Nyx frowned. "Unfortunately not. It is a mythological force, but it was widespread and thin. Demigods should remain unaffected, but the mortals that are the most weak-minded have probably passed by now. Oh, and the Mist was most likely obliterated by that."

On that note, Nyx smiled.

"Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to go take a look at my new world. I'll see you guys once I have killed all eight Pillars. Tootles."

Nyx flashed away from the throne room.


End file.
